Brushes with History

The Scottish Arts Club, 2022

Commissioned artwork to celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Scottish Arts Club

Adopting the humble artist’s brush as a universal symbol of creativity and ingenuity, the suspended artwork occupied the central public space of the club for the month of August during the Edinburgh International Festival. It was constructed from 1,800 donated used artist’s brushes, a brush for each month of the club’s existence. Each brush has its own unique appearance, patina and provenance and collectively they populate the building with 100’s of narratives and histories. The artwork was assembled by Hans and a dedicated team of club members over a period of three months; 300 metres of twine was used and over 9000 knots were tied in its construction. A true community effort!